SPRING LAKE, N.C. (AP) — The mayor of a North Carolina town and unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate in 2016 has decided against seeking re-election to his local post this fall.

Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey (ChrisRey.com)

Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey announced Monday in a news release that he won’t run for a fourth two-year term, citing the demands of a new National Guard assignment he expects will leave less time for the elected job. Municipal candidate filing began last Friday and runs through July 21.

Rey is a Democrat who was elected the youngest mayor of the Cumberland County town near Fort Bragg in 2011.

Rey finished a distant second to Deborah Ross in a four-candidate Democratic U.S. Senate primary in March 2016.